In the last couple of weeks I’ve jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon of making Mason Jar Salads for my lunches (which is kind of funny considering I’ve only been on Pinterest a couple of times in my life). There really are SO many awesome ideas out there though, and I wanted to try to do something to increase the amount of veggies I eat in a day, and this seemed like the perfect solution!
For my 1st attempt, I decided to make 5 different salads because I didn’t want to make multiples of any one kind until I knew I liked it. Also, even though I’m usually home on Wednesdays, I figured if the salad was already made and ready to go, I was much more likely to eat a healthy lunch at home instead of munching on cheese and crackers and the kids’ leftovers, so I went ahead and made one for Wednesday as well. 🙂
It took me quite a bit of prep time that first Sunday because I was measuring and entering everything into MyFitnessPal as I went along, but I can tell it will be exponentially faster each subsequent time that I make them. I tried to get a good mix of carbs/fats/proteins in every salad and stay around the 400 calorie mark. I wasn’t sure how the lettuce would keep, but (non-spoiler alert – you see what I did there? *grin*) my Friday salad was still fresh & delicious 5 days later. Consider me impressed!
Using different amounts of ingredients and types of salad dressings will of course change the calorie count pretty quickly on these salads, so make sure you pay attention to that if you’re concerned about calories. It would be easy to make a simple olive oil and vinegar type dressing for most of these salads as well, but I decided to try to use up what was already in my fridge first. I also added chicken to most of my salads because I like chicken, but if you don’t eat meat it would be simple enough to add different nuts, tofu, quinoa, etc. to increase the protein that way.
Here is the rule of thumb I followed when assembling my salads:
Layer 1: Dressing (oil & vinegar based, creamy styles, or salsas all worked well)
Layer 2: Hearty Veggies: tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, broccoli, asparagus, carrots, peppers
Layer 3: Beans / Less Hearty Veggies: avocado, mushrooms, zucchini, sprouts, green beans, corn
Layer 4: Pasta & Grains: pasta, rice, quinoa, couscous
Layer 5: Meats & Cheese: shrimp, chicken, beef, blue/feta/goat cheese, shredded cheese
Layer 6: Lettuce, nuts, & seeds: spinach & field greens, walnuts, pecans
You can of course add other items to these layers – these are just some of MY favorite salad ingredients that I jotted down for quick reference. I used wide mouth quart sized mason jars that I bought at the local hardware store ($11 for a dozen of them) and that makes a really good sized salad.
Without further ado – here are the salads I made last week!
*****
Mason Jar Taco Salad – 390 calories
- ¼ c. Salsa
- 1 T light sour cream
- 4 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 T jalapenos or green chiles
- 1.5 oz avocado (drizzle w/lemon to keep green)
- 1/5# ground beef
- 1/5 can black beans
- 1/5 packet taco seasoning
- ½ oz shredded cheese
- 1 c shredded lettuce
Apple/Pecan/Blue Cheese Salad – 400 calories
I
- 2T Yogurt Blue Cheese Dressing
- ½ medium Honeycrisp apple, sliced
- 1 oz blue cheese crumbles
- 12 g pecans/walnuts
- 4 oz chicken
- 1 c. Spring Mix Salad Greens
Veggie, Goat Cheese, & Chicken Salad – 418 calories
I ended up eating out for lunch this day, so I ate my salad for dinner instead since it was already made and I didn’t want it to go waste. Delicious!
- 2T Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette
- 4 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 oz bell peppers, chopped
- 25 g thin sliced red onion
- 1 oz cooked rotini (1/2 c)
- 2 oz cooked chicken
- 1 c arugula or spring mix
Greek Salad – 279 calories
Y
- 2T Greek Vinaigrette
- 4 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
- 25 g thin sliced red onion
- 50 g (1/4 of medium) peeled cucumber, chopped
- 1 oz feta
- 4 oz chicken 110 cal
- 1 c. romaine lettuce
- Parsley
Chopped Cobb Salad – 391 calories
T
- 2T Yogurt blue cheese dressing
- 4 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
- 50 g (1/4 of medium) peeled cucumber, chopped
- 25 g thin sliced red onion
- 1 hard boiled egg, sliced
- 1.5 oz avocado, cubed (drizzle w/lemon to keep green)
- 1 slice crispy bacon, crumbled
- 2 oz deli sliced turkey
- 2 oz deli sliced ham
- 1 c. romaine lettuce,,chopped
Since it took me awhile to get around to writing this post, I’m also going to add the new salad I tried out this 2nd week that I made while catching up on The Bachelor 🙂 I was off work on Monday and had a crazy day Tuesday, but I was determined to not fall of the wagon of making these that quickly, so I whipped up 3 identical salads for me to eat Wed-Fri this week. Quick & easy!
Artichoke & Tortellini Salad – 417 calories
This was a meat-free salad that I made with 3 cheese tortellini that I bought in the refrigerated section at the grocery store. SO good!
- 2 T Lite Italian Dressing
- 4 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
- 25 g thin sliced red onion
- 1/3 can quartered artichokes
- 3/4 c. cheese tortellini
- 1 oz goat cheese
- 1.5 cups Spinach/arugula blend
Next week I want to try to make some salads using quinoa for the protein instead of chicken. I’ll try to keep updating with new “recipes” on here as I put them together. It’s amazing how full you feel on 400 calories when it’s all nutritious foods!
For more details about the how and why regarding mason jar salads, check out The Ultimate Mason Jar Salad Tutorial and Recipe Roundup on Organize Yourself Skinny.
How about you guys? Have any of you made mason jar salads and have a favorite recipe you’d like to share?